Of Lions and Monkeys
by Beware the Ice
Summary: It's been a year since Garnet and Zidane were married, and a six months since the defeat of Ultemecia. No one ever even knew the other world existed, let alone that they were connected. SquallxZidane. Written for a good friend of mine.
1. It begins

He'd had a bad dream. Of course, being the silent brunette he was, he didn't even say a word. He'd woken with a silent scream of terror, and now he sat straight up and held a hand over his face, over the scar that crossed his nose. It hadn't been the fight, nor had it been any of the events of scarcely a year ago.

It had been Rinoa's death.

He didn't want to remember that. Of everything that had happened, he most wanted to forget her death. But of course, he couldn't. This wasn't the first time the nightmare had struck him and it probably wasn't going to be the last one knowing his luck.

* * *

And now he was panting, both in shock from the nightmare and in terror still. He'd been too little, too late to save her. He'd managed to save others of course, but not her. Not his Rinoa.

Damn. That dream again! His Dagger wasn't dead! That tail swished behind the blonde, the monkey scowling and looking over at the other person in his bed. His Dagger.

Well fine, her proper name was Garnet, but he'd called her Dagger for so long it was just natural now. She was round now, with what was to be their child. He reached over and brushed some hair from her face, leaning to kiss her cheek as he got up from the bed and got dressed. When he looked back to smile at her sleeping face again, she was looking at him from under her lashes.

"Mornin' beautiful." Zidane gave her a little bow, tail twitching mischievously.

Garnet smiled right back at him, getting up from their bed and stretching and nearly toppled over. Zidane caught her, kissing her cheek and helping her back to her feet fully.

The scene blurred and with a start Zidane remembered that Garnet had left him. She wasn't dead, no, she'd left him. Before he'd even gotten to see their child, she'd kicked him out of Alexandria and banned him from the place. Now he was wandering and sighing in utter sadness.

Horrible. It was just horrible.

So you could imagine how inattentively it was that Zidane wandered his way into the Ancient Forest. He didn't realize where he was up until he looked up and saw the tree that he'd just bumped into.

"Ow!" He rubbed his head, flicking his tail in annoyance. He was alone this time, and there was no way he was going to forget that they'd nearly lost Vivi here to some plant, as well as his Dagger – no, she wasn't his anymore, was she? He'd get that stranger if it was the last thing he did. And they could have lost his buddy Blank permanently. They'd been lucky not to, and even now Zidane remembered the nights he'd spent with his best friend.

Yeah, he'd never told Dagger about that. About how part of the reason he'd been so tormented over what had happened to Blank back then was not just because of how good friends they'd been. He hadn't told her that he and Blank had once been lovers. Something just told him it wasn't a good idea.

* * *

Squall let out a heavy sigh. Ok, fine. He was hungry. But how could he go back to the cafeteria when he remembered Rinoa's laughing at how Zell had shoved hot dog after hot dog down his throat? How could he go anywhere without remembering her? It had been his stupid fault.

He dropped his hand from his head when an announcement buzzed over the Garden.

"Squall, please report to my office. I need to speak with our top SeeD about a mission."

It was Cid. The brunette sighed once more and got up from his bed, slowly as he could. Fine. Fine, fine, fine. He basically dragged himself up to Headmaster Cid's office, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Squall. There are some deeper parts in the Fire Cave nearby. A young child from Dollet that was visiting got lost in there. I'm sending you to go get her."

"…."

"I knew I could count on you! Get going, we need to find her fast."

That was how Squall found himself in the Fire Cave again after so long. He wasn't very pleased about it, moving deeper than he had even known the place went. And when the Fire Cave suddenly turned into a beach, he found himself even more confused. And who was that blonde with the tail? He'd never seen someone like that before and Squall found himself staring at that tail. Was it fake?

No, it didn't appear fake at all, but what was a guy doing with a tail? Hmph. Squall was on a rescue mission anyways, he didn't need to bother himself with the random stranger. The brunette resumed looking for the child and found a hat, badly charred.

Oh fun.

Did this mean that little girl was dead, perhaps charred to death in a place she should never have been? He needed to go back and tell the others what he'd found then. But funny, there didn't seem to be an exit anymore!

Squall grunted, displeased with this turn of events. He looked over at the blonde again, before he realized that the other was … crying? It was none of his business.

* * *

Zidane had seen the stranger come into the little cavern. Who'd known that a cave deep in the Evil Forest had lead to a place like this? He'd fled here to escape the plant spiders that had come after him with a vengeance, and in his mind's eye he could just see them waiting outside for him to exit the fiery cavern. He'd seen a little girl run out of here, but he had no idea if the plant spiders had taken her or something.

She'd kind of looked like his Dagger. No, not his Dagger. The Queen Garnet. She wasn't his anymore. He twisted to look at the male again. "You know, the girl went out of here, out there." He pointed with his tail, reaching up to wipe away the tears that Garnet's leaving him had caused. "There are monsters out there though."

_He's kinda cute, in a big strong silent type sort of way. _The thought leapt unbidden to him, and his tail lashed. "If you're planning to go out there, mind if I tag along?" The monkey boy had ulterior motives, of course. What else was he to do when Garnet had left him and he spotted someone cute? Plan to get together with him of course!

Poor poor unsuspecting lion. The monkey was on the prowl.


	2. Only a little thought

Prowling monkey knows no bounds. The blonde stole another look over at the silent brunette. Well… this was Zidane's world after all, and he'd offered to give the brunette a small tour before they started searching for a way to get Squall back to his lands. _No, not really. He's staying here with me._ A slight nod, mostly to himself of course. The monkey was stalking the lion, watching from the trees as the mighty beast prowled below.

Not literally of course. No, the two were still in the cavern. Zidane's fingers flitted over the hilts of his daggers and he glanced over at Squall yet again. Ehehehehe, this monkey was planning things that were going to happen and the lion had no idea of just what was in store for him.

"Right. There are monsters outside, we'll have to fight our way out of here. " Boy! What was Dagger gonna think when she saw him with this lion? He still wasn't sure why Dagger had kicked him out, but he was going to move on and not dwell on it. After all, that was what Dagger had told him once when he was sulking over the death of Kuja. He was only following her advice.

"… Fine." Squall muttered. He was glad he'd thought to bring his gunblade. "Lead the way.."

Zidane nodded, pulling those daggers from their sheathes and peering out of the cavern. Sure enough, the spider plants were there, and waiting for them. Another look back at that poor lion. Unsuspecting. Heh. Then Zidane led the way into the fray, yelling out a battle cry that drew the attention of those monsters to him long enough for Squall to come bursting out of the cavern with that gun blade of his scything through the air and into several of the plant spiders. Several of them crumpled, and Zidane swallowed hard when he noticed a hellishly familiar grayish tint to the trees.

"Squall run!" He blurted, darting out of the way. "You don't want to be caught in the petrifaction of the forest!"

He didn't want to lose this lion of his before he had the chance to capture him! Granted last time he'd been able to get the soft needed to save Blank, it had been hard and he'd had allies then. He had none now. He couldn't take that chance. He wouldn't.

Squall grunted, looked back at the grey Zidane was staring at and nodded. He didn't know what it was anyway, he was inclined to believe what a native of this place told him about it. So Squall ran, slicing as he went along. But there, in front of them! More of the forest was turning grey in front of them. "… Zidane, look."

Boy oh boy did Zidane get a little shiver down his spine when he heard Squall say his name! Mmmm, something he liked to hear already. But the tone, it wasn't a good one and Zidane twisted to look.

Zidane's expression fell from a half smile to a look of abject horror. Oh no… How were they going to get out? The forest was becoming petrified from two separate directions. He had to swallow hard to force any air past the sudden lump in his throat. Crap. It looked like the monkey and lion were trapped.


	3. Not all Proper

This place. It wasn't a place like anywhere he'd ever known and already Squall knew he didn't like this forest and if there were more places like this than he really didn't want to have to see any of them. This one was bad enough as it was. Zidane (some strange little guy with a tail of all things!) was – as near as Squall could tell – terrified of whatever that grey stuff was. He'd run into it before, one could tell that much about Zidane without even trying.

That didn't mean Squall knew what the frick it was though. If anything, it meant he didn't even have the slightest clue. Which also meant that he didn't know how to get away from it either. And judging by Zidane's expression, the male wasn't sure either.

Which meant they were – for all intents and purposes – stuck and possibly screwed. Oh well. "…"

"This way!" Zidane was yelling, and with a sigh Squall followed as the smaller male ran.

Something tugged at the back of Squall's mind and he looked back – only to see the forest petrify those plant spiders as well. Wait… weren't those on the forest's side? It was attacking its own troops? What kind of – Squall grunted as he was suddenly tugged forward.

He'd stopped moving as he thought, and now Zidane had grabbed the back of his shirt and was using the grip to pull him behind Zidane. Squall felt irritation creep into his mind, just a mild bit mind you, but irritation was annoyance, and it certainly wouldn't work well with the plan Squall had no clue of.

And of course, that irritation flourished into a pure form of annoyance when Squall heard the tiny rip in the fabric of his shirt. "Zidane." He muttered, quiet, though it was enough to make the blonde release his shirt. Squall would wonder about the strange little shiver that he fancied he saw slither up Zidane's spine. What was that all about anyway?

"Sorry. You weren't moving and we don't want the forest to petrify you. Bes-" Zidane yelped as he was suddenly yanked to the ground and … made into a bed by Squall? The monkey blinked, though his mind was just as suddenly in a completely different place – a bedroom occupied by two sweaty bodies – it was quickly snapped back into reality when Squall said his name again.

"Zidane, there was a gunshot." Squall looked annoyed, and maybe a bit confused.

Though his confusion was nothing next to Zidane's. "A what?"

Well crap. So this world didn't have guns, or at least this person knew nothing of them. Which meant that Squall was going to have to be careful with his gunblade. But there was no time, no time! The petrifaction of the forest was accelerating as if it knew its quarry was down for the moment. Squall got up, offered a hand to Zidane and winced when he noticed the strange angle the other male's left leg was in. It looked broken, and that thought was only confirmed when Zidane tried to stand and instead he yelped and fell back down to the ground.

"…" Which pretty much left Squall a grand total of two options: help Zidane walk/carry him, or leave him behind and try and find a way home alone. But, Squall wasn't a traitor, and it was this that found him leaning and pulling the smaller man onto his back. "Put your arms around my neck Zidane."

And ooooohhh baby did Zidane like hearing that! He complied – a bit too quickly for Squall's tastes – and was glad for the fact that Squall didn't look back to see the wide smile that had settled onto Zidane's face. The monkey was happy there on the back of the lion, almost enough to forget the terror of what was happening to the forest. And when he heard Squall panting – just as something glinted in the distance – it only managed to distract him more.

"KWEH!"

A chocobo! The bird's armor had been what had glinted, and now it swung itself up beside Squall as though offering it's back (which bore a saddle) to be ridden. Squall only stared at it. What the heck was that thing?

"You're supposed to get on it's back Squall. Like a horse or something. Hurry!" Zidane fought a momentary thought of biting the ear he was whispering it. No spooking the lion..

Squall made a face, entirely confused as to how he was supposed to go about getting on the thing when he felt Zidane moving on his back. "…?"

Zidane was using his tail to grip Squall now, carefully maneuvering himself onto the chocobo's back. He still banged his leg against the chocobo's side and winced, but now the monkey was offering his hand out to Squall, pulling to help the larger man onto the chocobo – in front of Zidane on purpose.

Now the monkey had a near perfect view of the lion's butt. And what a nice butt it was too. Of course, with the way they were sitting on the chocobo, that butt was in-between Zidane's legs…

"Whoa boy! Heel!"

Zidane shook himself. Oh, well, that hadn't just been in his head then. Someone had actually yelled that, and as he looked around he noticed that they had somehow managed to escape the forest and that there was someone yelling at the chocobo.

"Fai! How dare you run off like that again! I outta fry you up for chocobo soup!"

"He saved Zidane and I."

Oh baby, that was even better than his name alone. Zidane decided, that tail flicking mischievously.

"Hmm? Oh! Howdy! I'm Rithmy! Who're you?"

Ice's Note: Rithmy and Fai aren't mine. They belong to the person I'm writing this fic for.


	4. Skip Ahead: Lion's Little Secret

_**Ice's Note: **__This chapter is out of order here. I had the rightful next chapter done and all, but my computer reset itself and deleted it. I was in the mood for fluff and so I wrote this, and it's being uploaded now only to cheer up a dear friend of mine because sometimes people are jerks. -.- So, yeah. We'll go back to the normal order later, think of this as a teaser or something._

* * *

Zidane tossed and turned in his bed, grunting and grumbling. He'd fallen asleep hours ago, and he'd been still up until about a few minutes ago. His whines and noises had awoken Squall and the stoic male looked at the monkey boy. There were…. tears in the monkey's eyes. Zidane was crying in his sleep?

Squall frowned. Over the past month or so, the monkey had gotten to him. He still of course, was oblivious to most of Zidane's plan.

But still. Squall owed him one, and while comforting someone having a nightmare was nowhere near saving another's life - it was a start, yes? Slowly, Squall got up from his bed (not bothering to put any more clothes on other than his boxers. Because really, Zidane was asleep and there was no way things were gonna get strange unless the blonde woke up) and sat on the edge of Zidane's bed. A few more moments of quiet, only broken up by Zidane's sleeping sniffles, before Squall acted.

He slowly (after looking around of course!) pulled Zidane closer, putting his arms around the blonde and stroking a hand slowly through those blonde locks. Zidane quieted and snuggled closer to Squall's bare chest and the male paused for a moment before resuming.

They remained that way for who knew how long, until Squall himself fell asleep with Zidane in his arms.

Squall woke up first of course, carefully extracting himself from Zidane's clingy grip and getting dressed. It was while Squall was pulling on his shirt that Zidane awoke.

"Did you sleep alright?" Zidane questioned, hopping out of bed himself.

Squall nodded quietly, keeping his mouth shut about how things had gone during the night. "You?" He couldn't help it, he had to ask. His back was turned, so he didn't see Zidane's expression.

One of shock. Squall had actually… asked about him. "I had a bad dream, though it stopped pretty soon after it began."

Squall allowed himself a small smile at the words, a smile Zidane wouldn't see. Of course it had stopped, Squall had done his best to make it stop, he was glad it had worked.

"I didn't wake you when I was having a bad dream, did I?"

Squall shook his head. "No."

Zidane would never know how Squall had made it a practice of holding the other male when he was having nightmares. Last night hadn't been the first time that had happened, and each morning was the same.

Which annoyed Zidane. He wished Squall would show more interest. For a lion, Squall was rather dense when it came to signals and plots. Boy, this monkey had a long way ahead of him to snare this lion.

Squall stretched. His back hurt after sleeping sitting up, but it was really the least he could do. Zidane had saved his life back there, and while Zidane had somehow wormed his way into a spot in Squall's heart - Squall was just unable to keep from comforting the other while he was sleeping.

Not like Zidane really needed to know what happened those night that he had nightmares.

That was the lion's little secret..


End file.
